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Dozens of bodies found in Caribbean-Brooklyn

Flatlands, a community neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, with a large population of Caribbean-New Yorkers, was the scene of a gruesome discovery on Wednesday when dozens of bodies were found in U-Haul trucks parked in front Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Services, Inc. The funeral home is at 2037A Utica Avenue, between Avenues L & M.

A New York Police Department detective told EVERYBODY’S Magazine more than 60 bodies were found in the non-refrigerated trucks.

Tired of the odor coming from the area of the funeral parlor, people called the authorities.

It is not known if all the dead found stacked in body bags inside the trucks died in the coronavirus pandemic, NYC Health Department said.

There are several funeral homes in Flatlands many are owned by Caribbean funeral directors and supported by Caribbean people in Brooklyn. Although the director of Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Services, Inc. is a black man, it is not known if he is a Caribbean-American.

By Wednesday evening NYC authorities had removed the bodies.

It is not known if any of the bodies were Caribbean immigrants or if the bodies were brought there from other boroughs.

As a result of the pandemic, there are bodies scattered across the five boroughs of New York City stored in refrigerated trucks. Funeral homes, hospitals and morgues are packed.

“We need to bring in funeral directors, morgues, clergies … when you find bodies in trucks like this throughout our city, treating them in an undignified manner, that’s unacceptable,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams remarked upon visiting the area.

EVERYBODY’S, the Caribbean-American magazine, is a consultant for a major NYC radio station about the COVID-19 within the English speaking and Haitian communities of the City.

As of Wednesday, 18,000 persons died in NY State; of the State’s total, close to 13,000 in NYC and in the suburbs of Long Island – Nassau 1,678, Suffolk 1,155 and Westchester County 1,006.

EVERYBODY’S estimates that more than 1,500 English speaking and Haitian speaking immigrants have died in New York City. Immigrants from every island, Guyana and Belize have perished. Caribbean-New York victims include radio disc jockeys such as Gil Bailey, bakers such as Conrad Ifill, school teachers, transit workers, community leaders such as Roy Hastick, nurses and other healthcare workers and at least 11 EVERYBODY’S Magazine subscribers.

Unlike 9/11 when EVERYBODY’S listed all the immigrants from the Caricom Caribbean who perished in the World Trade Center, the magazine is not listing New York-Caribbean deaths – just too many.

As a result of COVID-19, the magazine has made its May edition available at no cost – download it at www.everybodysmag.com.